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Climer studies memory's neural underpinnings. Neuroscientists agree that synapse changes help us acquire new memories, but researchers are just starting to understand what governs these changes and how they impact neural firing patterns. Little is known about the neurobiology of forgetting, a complex process critical for daily function. Climer believes there is a critical relationship between forgetting and continual learning, and that we can observe signatures of this using novel behavioral tasks and by recording neurons as memories develop and are forgotten.
To study neurons across a memory's lifetime, Climer studies mice as they perform tasks in virtual reality. VR allows mice to have experiences that are impossible or impractical in a laboratory setting, such as learning a new environment every day. Using two-photon imaging of calcium and neurotransmitter sensors, it is possible to record the same neurons and their inputs in live mice across days and weeks, allowing researchers to link changes in the neural code to changes in an animal’s ability to remember. We are particularly interested in the changes that occur at the end of the life of a memory: as animals forget.
Areas of expertise

Memory
Spatial navigation
Neuron computation
Statistics of neural data
2-photon imaging
Virtual reality in animals

Research Areas:


Electrophysiology


Neurophysiology 


Neurobiology


Behavioral Neuroscience


Research Interests:


Two-Photon Imaging


Virtual Reality


Computational Neuroscience


Learning and Memory


Imaging


Computational Neuroscience


Spatial cognition


Spatial navigation


Education


B.S., biology & biotechnology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2010


Ph.D., neuroscience, Boston University, 2016